1. The surname or full name of the applicant and their contact information;
2. A description of the government information sought in the application;
3. Expectations of the format in which the government information requested [is to be
provided].
Article 21: State organs shall respond to requests for release of government information in
the following ways for the following situations:
属于公开范围的
), [state organs] should
1. For [requests] falling within the scope of release (
inform the applicant of the methods and channels through which they may obtain the
government information.
2. For [requests] falling outside the scope of release, [state organs] should notify the
applicant and clearly state the reasons;
3. In case where by law the information does not belong to the state organ [to which the
request is made], or where the government information does not exist, the applicant should
be notified, and in cases where the [proper] releasing state organ can be determined, [the
state organ to which the request is made] should provide the applicant with the name of the
[proper] state organ and contact information.
4. In cases where the content requested is unclear, [state organs] should notify the applicant
and request they amend or supplement their application.
Article 22: In cases where the government information requested contains information that
should not be released, but [the information] can be handled selectively, state organs should
provide to the applicant any content that can be provided.
Article 23: In cases where the state organ feels the government information requested
belongs to the category of commercial secrecy, personal privacy, or could be harmful to the
legal rights of a third party if made public, they should seek the opinion of the third party in
writing; if the third party does not agree to release, [the information] may not be released.
However, if the state organ deems that not releasing the information could have a major
impact on the public interest, [the information] should be released, and written notice
describing the content and the reasons [for its release] should be made to the third party.
Article 24: When responses can be made on the spot for applications for release of
government information, state organs should answer the request on the spot.
When responses cannot be made on the spot for applications for release of government
information, state organs should answer the application within 15 working days of submission
of the request; if there is a need to extend the period of response, permission should first be
sought with the organ responsible for government information release work, notice should be
made to the applicant, and extensions to the period of response may not exceed 15 working
days.
In cases where the release of government information touches on the rights of a third party,
the time required for the state organ to seek the opinion of the third party is not figured in to
the period stated in the second paragraph of this article.
Article 25: Citizens, legal persons or other organizations make application to state organs to
obtain government information pertaining to their own taxes, social security, healthcare, etc.
[they] should present valid identification or other documents of proof.
If citizens, legal persons or other organizations can demonstrate that information provided by
state organs concerning themselves is inaccurate, they have the right to request that the
state organ make corrections. If the state organ [in question] is not entrusted to make
corrections, it must refer the information to the state organ that is entrusted and inform the